Saturday, December 6, 2008

Carriage Horse Protest During Special Holiday Promotion Event

Scheduled protests on Fifth Avenue coincided with a planned demonstration at Central Park against the horse drawn carriage industry. When activists arrived, they noticed that a quiet rally was being held in an inconspicuous place away from the horses and carriages. Consequently, it was decided that the best place for the protest to be held was at the hack line where the horses and carriages line up to take passengers.

Timing was perfect as this was the day of a special promotional event held by the Plaza Hotel annually to promote the Carriage Horse trade. Santa rode up the avenue in a horse drawn carriage and distributed candy canes to the kids and carrots to the horses.

By the time activists had arrived, some 200+ individuals, including native New Yorkers but predominantly tourists visiting New York City where six deep waiting to hire a horse drawn carriage. Posters were held high and voices were raised in an effort to educate potential customers about the cruelty and the abuse meted out by the owners and drivers of the carriages.

Within a short time, most of the crowd waiting for a carriage dispersed. Many told activists that they were happy they had been approached and told about the deaths and abuse of horses on the streets of New York City. Some opted to hire environmentally friendly pedicabs instead. Children seemed the most moved by the protest, as they are not old enough to have become hardened and uncaring about the plight of the poor horses. Some of them clearly displayed their discomfort and asked their parents to not take the ride.

Activist signs showed in full living color, the accident and death scenes that have played out in front of tourists at Central Park. In some cases, exchanges became heated and there was name-calling and insults going in both directions. The scum that drive the horses treated their patrons, which included young children, to a showing of lewd comments and gestures, directed at protesters.

It was gratifying to see that some ugly matrons wearing fur were seen sporting anti-fur stickers (see pictures).

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